How to Ensure Your Website is Properly Optimized

Oct 12, 2018

It is sad to report (at least, it’s sad for us!) that Google has once again shifted their rules on search engine optimization (SEO). More specifically, they’ve flip-flopped on their rule regarding meta description tag length, one that we were admittedly very excited to talk about in our last article. Google’s new ruling in fact took place in May 2018.

“Our search snippets are now shorter on average than in recent weeks, though slightly longer than before a change we made last December. There is no fixed length for snippets. Length varies based on what our systems deem to be most useful.”– Danny Sullivan of Google, announced via Twitter on May 14, 2018

It’s frustrating trying to keep up with Google’s lightning pace when it comes to SEO, adhering to the latest guidelines, and so on, because of the fact they change their algorithm and rules so frequently. That’s not to say you should worry about it though! The reason being that we’re the ones who naturally look after the white hat SEO for our clients (which you can read more about here).

We’ve figured out that there are some ways you can keep your website up to date with Google’s fluctuating rules, however. Here are some ways that you can ensure your website is optimized so that its SEO lasts throughout the years—even if and when Google, yet again, changes its rules.

Adhering to White Hat SEO Practices

If your business’s website always, always adheres to what’s considered a ‘white hat’ SEO practice, then you’re already in the clear. White hat SEO practices that can be implemented include the following:

Fast loading times on websites (ideally between 2 to 3 seconds)

Mobile responsiveness, i.e. a website should respond to and resize to accommodate a screen’s size over multiple devices

Unique and useful content with a length of over 500 words

Relevant and useful backlinks and references to sources in content

Easy to navigate menus and pages

Keyword-rich title and meta description tags that read well and cater to a human’s point of view, not a robot’s

You can also check out Google’s Webmaster Guidelines on what they consider to be proper SEO practice.

Things About Websites and SEO That Still Last

There is more than simply white hat SEO that can help a website flourish and continue to be successful as your business’s virtual calling card. Some other aspects of the best websites online include the following traits:

A trustworthy business name on a strong domain, one that’s hosted by you and you alone (we can talk more about that in a one-on-one consultation if you wish)

A website well-protected from spam and fraudulent visitors, such as bots and even to a severe degree hackers and cybercriminals

Our extensive list of black hat SEO practices, which you can find here, is also a good reference because it reveals exactly what you shouldn’tdo to your website if you want it to be successful.

Getting a Site Built That Google Trusts

Sometimes a website that was built over 10 years ago or more doesn’t get updated, and that’s a big deal. This is because the first version of Google as a search engine was released back in 1996, and it continues to be updated and fine-tuned today. So, if your website is older than even a search engine, consider your business’s website ancient history!

Also, ancient history in Internet time is a harder thing to rank highly on Google. Let’s just say the less kept up to date the site is and the blacker its SEO hat is, the less likely you’ll be trusted by anyone online.

With all this in mind, rebuilding a website from scratch rather than simply rebuilding a few lines of code may be what your business actually needs. Getting our professionals at V3 Media to do just that is the number one way to ensure your website is properly optimized from the get-go. Our services can also save you money and time, as it’s easier to build a new site from the ground up instead of fixing an already constructed website with poor coding or black or grey hat SEO practices initiated.

At the end of the day, if the idea of optimizing your website is too much for you to handle thinking about, then don’t worry about it. Call our professionals at V3 if you want to get help with building a new website that adheres to Google’s rules now and in the future to come. Again, if you want to clarify a few things about SEO and the difference between white and black hat, a one-on-one consultation with us is highly recommended. We hope to see you soon if that’s what you need!